A group at the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, operating under the auspices of Concerned Academic Staff Academic Staff Union of Universities (CASUU), has stated that its members are ready to resist unnecessary politicisation and unhealthy rivalry in the union to prevent it from being ruined by power seekers.
This was as the FUOYE chapter of the union has now been split into four groups due to high-wired politics among contending forces namely: Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) headed by Dr. Akinyemi Omonijo, Congress of Nigeria Academics (CNA) , CASUU and New Academic Staff Union of FUOYE (NASUF).
ASUU, FUOYE chapter, has been embroiled in crisis triggered by the anti-management stance maintained by the Omonijo-led ASUU which didn’t please some members.
A couple of weeks ago, CNA was inaugurated in the university due to the existing cracks among members.
Addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, the CASUU members, which spoke through its Chairman, Prof Sola Omotola and spokesman, Dr. Wasiu Oyedokun-Ali, accused ASUU, Akure Zone of fuelling factional crisis in the university.
Oyedokun, who read the text of the speech delivered by embattled members, said it was wrong for the ASUU Chairman, Akure Zone, Prof. Olufayo Olu-Olu to have taken side initially when the bedlam started to brew before it festered to this level when no fruitful mediation was made.
The group said they decided to take the bull by the horn to rescue the union from those who have decided to run it like a ‘cult’.
He debunked allegations of illegal promotions, mismanagement of funds and gross incompetence, among other grievous accusations levelled by the Omonijo-led ASUU against the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Kayode Soremekun, describing them as baseless and unfounded.
Oyedokun said: “Our members felt the problem was not really about ASUU, it is about one man, Dr. Omonijo. To us, impeaching him have been the only option through which we can progress and that was where we stand.
“The Congress under the ASUU had earlier met in October where they resolved that Dr. Omonijo must be removed . The motion was moved and resolution taken to this effect but efforts to realize this has been sabotaged by Zonal ASUU under Prof Olu-Olu, because he stalled the letter we sent to ASUU National Executive Committee.
“Despite this, we insist that the Congress is supreme and we decided to assert its supremacy and we proceed with the impeachment and on that we stand.
“Our focus is to rescue ASUU and make it functional again because over 50 of our members had withdrawn financial contributions to ASUU. The union seems factionalised and it needs urgent rescue mission.
“Though, politics has crept to all strata of our society but we won’t allow unnecessary politicization of ASUU, because it is a credible academic and pressure group”, he stated.
Olu-Olu had, while addressing pressmen, said his allegations that Prof Soremekun has been acting like emperor was real, while also dispelling the insinuation that he was igniting crisis in the university by hobnobbing and protecting Omonijo.
The Professor of Physics said ASUU would stop at nothing to restore normalcy in the university by putting the management on its toes.
“The Zonal ASUU is not interested in causing tension or crisis in FUOYE, we are here to restore the real academic culture. How can someone who is not a PhD holder be promoted a professor? Why must you asked students to pay money to buy reagents? All these are anomalies we want to correct,” he said.
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